Weather Talk: The flatter the land, the windier the weather

Written By: John Wheeler
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May 18th 2019 - 6am.

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The weather is often windy in the Northern Plains and, in particular, the Red River Valley. We have more blizzards than anywhere else in the United States due to long winters and flat terrain which lets the wind flow unimpeded. But is this the windiest place in the country? Actually, no.

You might be surprised to learn that Boston, Mass., has a higher average wind speed (12.3 mph) than Fargo (12.2 mph). Many coastal areas have higher average wind speeds than the Red River Valley due to the fact that an ocean offers even less wind resistance than the terrain around here.

The region with the highest average wind speed is in the Texas Panhandle, a region that possesses many of the same geographical charismatics as the Northern Plains. The land is very flat and there are even fewer trees to block the wind compared to our region.